Hose or line couplings that may be easily disconnected by a manual release means have been well studied in the art. Such manually releasable couplings generally rely upon the presence of a trapped ball or pawl. U.S. Pat. No. 2,521,701 to Earle et al is exemplary of this latter class of coupling.
In the Earle device an outer, moveable containment ring retains a ball in a locking position within a groove on a male plug until it is desired to disengage the connector. Manual displacement of the outer containment ring releases the ball from the groove and permits disengagement to occur.
An alternate version of a manually disengageable coupling is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,840 to Brishka. In this case, a slotted, cylinder carries the interrupted segments of an annular bead that engages with a complimentary groove formed on a plug that is slid within the cylinder. Again, to effect release an outer containment sleeve must be displaced manually to free the cylinder-segments, permitting them to expand and allow the bead segments to withdraw from the groove.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,139 to Nelson for an improvement to the Brishka device contains a convenient exploded perspective view of these parts.
The present invention is based on a line connector that automatically disconnects under line tension, without the necessity for manual manipulation of the connector to effect release.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.